1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to protective clothing, and more particularly to clothing worn by participants in sporting events to protect against chest injuries.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The chest area of most athletes is normally unprotected against impacts. If an object strikes a player's chest, the force can be sufficient to cause trauma to either the heart muscle directly or to the vagus nerve, which has control over the heart and lungs (among other organs).
A child is more vulnerable to chest trauma than an adult. A child's sternum or breastbone is more compliant than an adult's. Thus, it is more easily compressed when struck, increasing the danger of cardiac injury. A relatively weak impact against a child's chest can compress the sternum against the heart, which may then be pressed against the spinal column, causing contusions, lacerations, or rupture of the heart. These internal injuries can occur without any external evidence of injury and without rib fracture. The lack of external signs make cardiac contusions difficult to diagnose. Since the pericardial cavity of a child is relatively small, only a slight injury and internal bleeding can cause severe problems. In addition, children often can only poorly describe their symptoms.
Baseball "catchers" and umpires are particularly exposed to chest injury from pitched and batted balls. The magnitude of the problem, particularly as it relates to young athletes, was discussed in a government publication. In December 1981, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Division of Hazard Analysis and Division of Human Factors, issued a report entitled "Overview of Sports-Related Injuries to Persons 5-14 Years of Age". The report focused on injuries to participants in fifteen selected sports activities. An important conclusion was that the most frequent source of fatalities among children aged 5 to 14 was from the children being struck by a ball or puck. Specifically, during the eight year period from 1973 through 1980, twenty-two deaths occurred due to direct blows to the chest. Seventeen of the deaths were caused by baseballs, and the fatalities occurred at every age within the 5 to 14 age group. Further, of the twenty-two chest-related fatalities, seventeen reports of death specifically mentioned arrhythmias or cardial arrest, possibly due to direct trauma to either the heart or the vagus nerve or both. Most victims died within the hour following impact.
Because of the potential injuries, baseball catchers and umpires invariably wear chest protectors of some type. The typical chest protector covers the torso from the neck to the crotch. State of the art chest protectors utilize light-weight resilient shock-absorbing synthetic foam to cushion the impact of the high speed baseball. The protective layer of foam may be grooved both horizontally and vertically to allow maximum flexibility. While the foam absorbs impact very well, it is not able to distribute the impact over an area larger than the area of the ball. Thus, if the ball strikes the player in the sternum, the unabsorbed energy will be transmitted to a relatively small area of the vulnerable sternum. As mentioned, this is particularly hazardous in the case of children.
Accordingly, a need exists for a chest protector that provides increased protection to the sternum area while maintaining the flexibility, light weight, and shock-absorbing characteristics of present protectors.